Propriedades antioxidante e anti-inflamatória do extrato etanólico do cerume de abelhas sem ferrão Geotrigona sp

Abstract

Bee products are natural products commonly used in folk medicine because of their healing properties. Among these is the cerumen, a mixture of the wax integrated by bees, with the propolis they generate from plant exudates and mandibular secretions. The genus Geotrigona includes important pollinators that use cerumen to build nests. There are no scientific reports on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity of cerumen produced by Geotrigona, which may lead to the prevention of cancer diseases. Therefore, the objective of this is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti inflammatory capacity of the ethanolic extract of cerumen from Geotrigona sp. For this, the cerumen obtained in Quimís, Manabí province, Ecuador was used for the preparation of the EECG, in the proportion 1:4.5 m:v. The quantification of phenolic compounds was performed using the aluminum chloride method and the flavonoids using the Follin-Cicauteau method. To evaluate the antioxidant activity, the free radical scavenging capacity was analyzed using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-acid) radicals. To evaluate the inhibition of oxidative hemolysis, the EECG (50-125 µg/mL) was incubated with the oxidizing agent AAPH (2,2'-azobis-2-amidinopropane) and the inhibition of lipid peroxidation was evaluated by reduction The anti-inflammatory potential of the extract was evaluated by its ability to inhibit the activity of the enzyme hyaluronidase under hyaluronic acid. As results, phenolic compounds were quantified being 7.08 ± 0.05 mg EAG/g of earwax and flavonoids being 1.42 ± 0.29 mg EQ/g of earwax. EECG inhibited concentration-dependent DPPH and ABTS radicals, with IC50 of 0.97 mg/mL and 0.48 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, it inhibited oxidative hemolysis by 45.9% at a concentration of 75 µg/mL. Moreover, it inhibited the lipid peroxidation induced by AAPH by 36% at the concentration of 50 µg/mL after 180 min of incubation and by 41.7 and 28.7% at the concentrations of 50 and 75 µg/mL, respectively, after 240 min. The EECG demonstrated an inhibitory potential on the hyaluronidase enzyme at a concentration of 5 mg/mL of approximately 11.6% compared to the solvent control. Thus, it is highlighted that the EECG has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, demonstrating that natural products such as beekeeping are alternatives for bioprospective studies and the conservation of these species is necessary.